Neighbors Raising Stink About Pig Farm

Good fences may make good neighbors, but Tom Waldron`s pig farm has done little to promote neighborly feelings.

Homeowners living next to Waldron filed suit Friday seeking to force the flamboyant millionaire developer to remove the 200 or more pigs he`s raising on his West Palm Beach area ranch.

``I`ve always done well with pork bellies, and this is just a hedge against my commodities trading,`` Waldron said of the porkers being lodged on 10 acres adjacent to the Westwoods development.

``I just can`t imagine anyone trying to stop an agricultural pursuit,`` he added.

But a lawsuit filed in Palm Beach County Circuit Court by two neighboring couples and the Westwoods Property Owners Association claims Waldron opened the pig farm in revenge after he was barred from using roads in the development.

Last June, Circuit Judge Mary Lupo ruled in favor of the association, which claimed trucks, heavy equipment and other vehicles traveling to Waldron`s 300- acre ranch had damaged Westwoods` roads and posed a danger to residents.

Waldron said he was allowed to use Westwoods` roads under a 1977 oral agreement with E.B. Development Corp., which built the 49-lot subdivision. Lupo ruled the agreement was not binding on the homeowners` group.

Earlier this year, the decision was affirmed in the 4th District Court of Appeal. A May 30 hearing has been scheduled in the latest round of disputes between the two sides.

The lawsuit seeks a temporary and permanent injunction against Waldron. It was filed by neighbors Benjamin and Rose Platt, Ronald and Laura Tumoszwicz, and the homeowners` group.

``They`re disturbed enough to file a complaint,`` said J. Brian Brennan, attorney for those seeking the injunctions.